The welterweight bout kicked off UFC 157, which took place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. It streamed on Facebook prior to additional FX prelims and the pay-per-view main card.

Burrell immediately made his presence known with a series of sharp punches, which prompted Villefort to catch a kick and deposit them to the mat.

In a subsequent scramble, Villefort took his opponent’s back and threatened with a rear-naked choke, but Burrell managed to escape. Burrell then escaped a subsequent choke attempt and got back to his feet, where Villefort landed several hard leg kicks. Burrell nearly seized the opportunity by catching one of them and throwing hard punches, but Villefort countered with another submission attempt. When Burrell reset, Villefort chased him down and traded punches. Burrell got the better of the exchange with a hard right hand.

Villefort did more damage with leg kicks in the second round as Burrell looked to counter with his hands. The Brazilian added several hard body shots, one of which caused Burrell to wince. Still, Burrell managed to land several right-hand counters that bloodied Villefort’s nose.

Sensing a close fight, Villefort took the action to the mat early in the third round and worked for another choke, which prompted a heated scramble with Burrell, who managed to escape to his feet. It wasn’t long, though, before Villefort had them back on the mat. An inverted heel-hook attempt followed, but Villefort’s attempt to finish the hold exposed his face and allowed Burrell to land a flurry of hammerfists that further bloodied him.

A final takedown attempt from Villefort was blocked, and he took a front kick to the face for his effort. The octagon newcomers ended the fight swinging for the fences.

“Coming into the UFC from Strikeforce, I had to win,” Burrell said. “I made a mistake at the weigh-in. I took the fight at short notice and made mistakes cutting weight, but I was determined to get the win no matter what. I took it to him. I fought my ass off, man. I was nervous walking out, I admit that. When you see that UFC octagon in front of you walking out, it hits you. But I went out and fought my heart out. He was close a couple of times with his submissions, but I wasn’t going to lose this. Now it is over and I am so relieved.”

With the victory, Burrell (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) returns to the win column following a first-round TKO loss to Chris Spang under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner, which snapped a six-fight win streak.

Villefort (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), meanwhile, now has lost back-to-back fights, including a split-decision defeat to Quinn Mulhern in Strikeforce.